Labyrinth has a special cult following thanks to Jim Henson‘s incredible puppet creations and effects and David Bowie‘s strange and hypnotic performance as Jareth, the Gobin King (in those extremely tight fitting and revealing pants). It is by no means to be mistaken for a good movie, but it’s created a story and world which still fascinates fans. That’s why Archaia‘s editor-in-chief Stephen Christy has begun overseeing the production of a Labyrinth graphic novel focusing on the origins of the Goblin King.

We can say it’s a prequel. It’s the story of how Jareth is brought into the Labyrinth for the first time. So, it doesn’t deal with Sarah, it doesn’t deal with Toby or anything like that.

It’s a very tragic story that is the opposite of Sarah’s, which has triumph at the end. It’s a prequel, so we know what happens in the movie. We know how it’s going to end: Jareth is going to be the Goblin King … so we’re showing how he’s pulled into the Labyrinth for the first time. It’s going to be cool. We’re switching up the dynamic of it, but what we’re doing is completely true to the spirit of the original.

David Bowie’s involvement and the music are crucial part of why people love Labyrinth. Could they somehow bring Bowie and his music into the graphic novel?

I don’t know if this will work out, but I want to do songs where they’re songs being sung (by characters) and we show the notes on the page, so you can actually play along.

We’re talking. The budget to get Bowie to do one song would be the budget of all the books, but we’re talking to him to at least get his blessing or maybe an introduction or something.

A big perk to Bowie’s involvement is it would allow whomever their artist is to draw Jareth like a young David Bowie. “He also has likeness approval,” Christy explains.

Archaia’s Labyrinth prequel graphic novel will be releasing late 2012, plan on picking up a copy?

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